


Firefly Season

by Ciasquare



Category: Teen Titans - All Media Types
Genre: Alien Cultural Differences, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 10:12:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17486213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ciasquare/pseuds/Ciasquare
Summary: Raven and Starfire see fireflies for the first time.





	Firefly Season

**Author's Note:**

> This was written as a Christmas gift for a friend. Hope you enjoy!

 

It was early evening in Jump City. The orange light of the setting sun streamed through the huge windows of the Titan’s Tower, warming the teenaged superheroes lounging indulgently in the living room. Beast Boy was curled up as a cat in a patch of sunlight on the floor. As Wonder Girl passed by, he stretched luxuriously and blinked at her with wide eyes, hoping for a belly rub. She snorted, but she leaned down to pet him anyway and smiled when he purred. He whined when she left to sit in an armchair, a steaming mug of coffee in her hand. He rolled from side to side pleadingly only to leap away in fright, arching and hissing as Kid Flash appeared out of nowhere to grin mischievously at him.

“Awh,” Kid Flash pouted, “did I scare the kitty?”

Beast Boy hissed again, fluffing his back fur out. Kid Flash raised his hands in surrender. “I’m going, I’m going!” He said reassuringly before disappearing, barely giving the sliding doors time to open for him.

Miffed, Beast Boy aggressively groomed his shoulders before padded over to Cyborg, nuzzling his legs and winding himself between them. Cyborg scowled, never taking his eyes off the game that he and Robin had going on their giant widescreen. “Beast Boy, I swear,” he growled, shaking one foot threateningly. Beast Boy hopped out, waving his tail derisively. He gave Robin – who was losing – a wide berth and trotted over to the kitchen, leaping onto the counter.

Raven was there, waiting patiently by the electric kettle for her water to boil and reading a book. Beast Boy sat next to her and arranged himself carefully, before morphing back into his human form, his legs swinging off the counter.

“Heya, whatcha reading?” He asked, leaning over to peer at her book.

Raven leaned away without so much as blinking, “Bored huh?”

“Yeah! How’d you know that? It’s like you read my mind!” He crowed, laughing at his own joke, “Get it? Read my mind? Empath?”

Raven nodded without comment and Beast Boy sobered up instantly, pursing his lips in indecision. “So…” he started as casually as he could, “Do you know where Starfire is?”

The empath lowered her book with a look of concentration, and then slowly lifted it, hiding her face behind it once more. “Yeah,” she replied after a beat, “she should be here… Now.”

Right on cue the doors slid open and Starfire flew into the room, bobbing up and down at an unusually excited frequency. “Where is Raven?” She demanded, breathless but loud, looking around blindly.

“Um, Star?” Beast Boy called, wincing when Starfire whipped her head towards him immediately.

Raven closed her book and placed it on the counter, giving Starfire a questioning look. In the same second, Starfire was there next to her, impatiently tugging on Raven’s hand, dragging her in tiny increments in the direction of the door.

“Raven, friend, you must follow me!”

Raven’s eyes were wide in surprise, but she allowed herself to be pulled along, not even resisting. “Starfire. Can’t this wait?”

“No, my friend! We must go at once,” Starfire insisted.

Raven blinked a couple of times, digesting the urgency of the statement, before turning to raise a single eyebrow at the other Titans, who were all staring. Robin and Cyborg had paused their game, Donna had her coffee halfway to her mouth, Kid Flash, who had just zipped into the room again was (blessedly) still. Beast Boy just stared. They all shrugged in perfect synchronization. Raven turned back to Starfire, who lightly pulled her toward the door once more.

“Um, alrigh-”

Before the last syllable couldeven fall from her lips, Starfire flew them out the living room doors that still had not fully slid shut from when Kid Flash had come in. The doors closed behind them with a soft rush of air and he rest of the Titans looked at each other in askance.

“What was that?” Beast Boy ventured warily, like Starfire would return to abruptly drag another one of them off without any explanation.

“No idea,” Robin answered, looking confounded.

Cyborg clapped his hands together loudly, “Aaaaall right then, who wants to see me demolish Robin in this game?”

“In your dreams, Tin Can.” Robin snarked, grabbing the console back up.

Beast Boy rolled his eyes and, morphing into a cat once more, walked leisurely over to Donna and settled on the right armrest, just in time for the last rays of sun.

* * *

 

Starfire loved twilight, a time of day when the sky looked like it was set on fire, just like the orange skies of her home planet.

Against the familiar backdrop, Raven seemed even more otherworldly, Starfire thought privately to herself as the two of them flew across Jump City through the pink and red sky. The blue of her cloak was like the blue of Tamaran’s second moon every few hundred years, when it darkened and the pale white of its stripes turned to red. The black of her hair was such a rare color amongst Tamaraneans. Only those that were unable to harness the power of the sun had black hair, and they were not able to fly. Even now knowing that it was common on Earth, Starfire still found herself staring occasionally when Raven took to the sky.

The colors – though strange and extraordinary – suited her, Starfire felt. A symbol of her quiet strength.

“Where are we going?” Raven asked, breaking the silence between them. Starfire still had her hand in hers, guiding her over Jump City.

“Do not be impatient, you will see soon,” Starfire told her cryptically, but she winked, squeezing Raven’s hand. Raven gave her a small smile, as close to showing emotion as she ever got, and Starfire beamed back, heart so happy she felt like she floated a little higher into the air. She shook her head gently, trying to dismiss her thoughts, and kept on leading them unerringly towards a small patch of trees, closely grown at the edge of New York.

“It is here, friend. I found it while I was out flying today.”

“What is it?” Raven frowned as they began their slow descent, peering at the woods with muted curiosity.

“We must walk for a bit as I am reluctant to scare them, but I am sure you will find them fascinating, just as I did.” Starfire explained. Raven hummed agreeably. From down on the Earth, the sun was much lower, and the woods were dark, but Starfire lit up one fist and together they walked into the forest.

Both girls had developed a habit of showing the other new discoveries they made about Earth and Earth culture. Where Starfire was obsessed with the biology and ecosystems of Earth, Raven was more interested in its histories and cultures. Often they would meet in their rooms to exchange their new facts and mostly it devolved into long talks about their homes.

Raven told her of the crimson clouds of Azarath, of gossamer scented incense. Of how the world was exorcised of all evil and when Raven was born, her world changed. The skies became black and starless and gossamer smelt like brimstone. She spoke of a city made of white marble and strong, gold pillars. Prayers at night and the meditation chants in the early morning. She had never known anything else and Earth was beautiful and wondrous to her, but it was full of more sounds, different smells and bright colors, and she was often overwhelmed by its newness.

In turn Starfire told her of the two moons always visible on her planet, one purple and the other blue with white streaks. How the sky was always red with the light of a sun so bright that night never fell. Their lush, green jungle and the war cries of their temples, as the people engaged in peaceful battles for custom and tradition. She told her of the food they made with strong and loud flavors, as eating was an experience they engaged in for pure enjoyment and not for a need to eat. How she greatly missed the way rain fell, in torrents and floods and her dislike of the gray concrete that made New York City.

Raven was the one who was curious enough to try and make popcorn in the tower, and they both clung to each other in terror when the popping began in the microwave. Starfire had practically hauled Raven into a fairground to show her cotton candy, and they both shared in the same disappointment when they found out that actual cotton couldn’t be eaten in the same way. Raven had once bought tickets for them to visit a zoo and the next day, Starfire convinced her to go on a small flight cross country to visit a museum in Connecticut. Recently, Raven had read about India in one of her books and they had gone to a curry place, where Starfire was delighted to discover the spiciest food she had ever eaten. They spent the rest of that day at a Hindu temple, listening to the prayer chants.

Today it was Starfire’s turn to show Raven something new, and she could barely contain her excitement. Raven was clearly feeling the waves of emotion coming off her, with her mouth quirking every couple of seconds in amusement.

“It is really beautiful.” Starfire promised, feeling a little guilty because she was probably interrupting one of Raven’s meditation sessions, but Raven shook her head and smiled at her again.

“Don’t worry about it, Kori. I’m only pleased.”

Starfire stopped walking and smiled at her, “It is here. Can you close your eyes?”

Raven coquettishly raised an eyebrow and Starfire laughed, “Please, Raven, close your eyes.”

“All right,” she sighed, and obligingly closed them, “but I warn you if this is like the time in the zoo with the crocodile exhibit…” she trailed off ominously. Starfire tried to mask her chuckles.

“It was very cute! The teeth were very inspiring of awe. When it ate, I was most pleased.” Starfire defended, still giggling.

Raven bit her lip and Starfire knew she was laughing too, even if she didn’t make any sound. “You’re not helping your case here, Kori.”

“I promise you, it is not a crocodile I have brought you to see,” Starfire said solemnly as she ushered Raven forward, clearing the way for her, “Now you may open your eyes,” she instructed, watching her face carefully.

Raven opened them and gasped, blinking rapidly at the scene in front of her.

They were standing at the edge of a pond and all around them were hundreds and hundreds of fireflies.

“Are they not beautiful?” Starfire whispered, finally looking away to take in the sight in front of them.

“Yes,” Raven replied still awestruck, “what are they?”

“I know not, but I will find out when I return.”

It was summer, but the night was pleasantly cool. Starfire never felt cold, but she was glad that Raven always wore that cloak, even if she couldn’t understand why anyone would wear such stuffy and restrictive clothing. She didn’t want Raven to be uncomfortable.

Starfire quietly sat and made herself comfortable, and after a while, Raven too sank cross-legged into the grass. The lights twinkled cheerfully at them and the sound of soft buzzing filled the air, lending a sense of peace and tranquility. They leaned into each other, shoulders brushing and enjoyed the quiet, staring out over the pond.

It felt like an hour had passed when Raven spoke, slow and controlled, “What are the lights? Why do they shine?” Raven asked, uncharacteristically emotional. Starfire could feel that she was beside herself with curiosity, and yet her words were calm and she showed nothing more than a slight widening of her eyes. Starfire was reminded yet again of her teammate’s strength, and reached out to hold her hand.

“I know nothing but that they are insects,” Starfire had a soft smile on her face as she reached out with one hand to cup one of them and bring it near to Raven. “See?”

Raven stared at it, crawling around in Starfire’s palm, blinking and glowing. “It’s beautiful,” she said, hushed.

They sat in silence for yet longer, their hands still linked and resting on Starfire’s warm lap, comfortable in each other’s presence, basking in the light of the fireflies. They only stood to leave when Raven began to shiver a little from the cold, and her slight lean on Starfire became heavier because she was drowsy. Starfire helped her up and as they stood facing the pond for one last look, Raven spoke again, “They are like flying stars. Flying earth stars.”

Starfire smiled and nodded, “I agree.”

“I think I know what they are called,” Raven mused, her brows knitting together thoughtfully.

“Oh?”

“Tiny Starfires,” Raven looked at her and smiled, small and sweet, “Starfireflies.”

Starfire blushed, “I am not deserving to have them carry my name.”

Raven shook her head, “I disagree. They are beautiful, just like you.”

Starfire beamed and pulled Raven into a tight hug, feeling Raven’s arms curl around her too. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you," Raven said softly, “thank you.” 


End file.
